José Mourinho Is Slammed for His Statement on the Vinicius-Prestianni Case

Frontal attack launched against Mourinho

European football woke up surrounded by controversy after Lilian Thuram fired back without filters at José Mourinho over his statements following the case involving Vinícius Júnior and Gianluca Prestianni.

The World Cup-winning defender called the Portuguese coach’s analysis “pathetic” and claimed his words show why the fight against racism still fails to progress. According to statements reported by L’Equipe, the Frenchman considers it unacceptable to question the victim instead of focusing on the alleged insult.

The trigger was the Champions League clash between Real Madrid and Benfica, where the Brazilian reported racist abuse and activated the referee protocol during the match.

It all began when Vinícius claimed he received racist remarks from Prestianni during the game. After the match, Mourinho — without directly accusing the Brazilian of lying — questioned the context of the incident and focused on the way he celebrated his goal, which many analysts believe shifted the discussion from the insult to the player’s attitude.

That nuance ignited social media and sparked a fierce debate: can a racism complaint be analyzed by discussing the victim’s behavior? For Thuram, the answer is blunt: no. The former international insists the racist act “is not linked to how he celebrated, but to the color of his skin.”

The 1998 World Cup champion did not stop at a surface-level critique. He went further and accused the Portuguese coach of sending a message suggesting the footballer might have “brought it on himself.” For the Frenchman, that idea is extremely violent because it shifts responsibility from the aggressor to the person who reports it.

He also defended the weight of testimonies on the pitch, noting that other players heard the insult, including Kylian Mbappé, which — in his view — reinforces the Brazilian’s credibility against any insinuation of exaggeration or fabrication.

The controversy did not remain just words. According to reports cited in European media, UEFA has opened an investigation to clarify what happened. The process keeps Benfica and Mourinho under constant media scrutiny as public pressure grows for the club to handle the case firmly.

Beyond any disciplinary outcome, the episode once again exposed a persistent fracture in football: the clash between those demanding zero tolerance for racism and those who believe some accusations are exaggerated. In that media battlefield, Thuram took a firm stance and turned the debate into something bigger than a match: a discussion about power, responsibility, and narrative in sport.

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